Coral Palm?

[Reg]

I was given a piece of what I think is a suckering cane palm and I was told it is a Coral Palm.

Ok so I tried to find information about growing and it's spiecies information.

The internet seems to be totally devoid of information about any palm with that common name. I have researched cane palms looking for images that may be this plant.

I have taken a number of images of the plant to help with it's identification.

Shows the Leaf and cane.

Leaf and a new leaf spike at the top of a cane.

The heliconias stressing on the ground were just reefed out of the ground. There is enough plant material for these to recover in time. They were growing beside the host plant.

New flower spikes breaking cover on the canes just above the top of the stake.

This shows a flower stem brown from the cane and orange at the top
where it's branched. Above the orange is a green flower spike which I
assume hasn't flowered and fruited as yet. The other canes on the host
plant I got this from have orange spikes along their full length. I
guess just like coral. Canes seem to grow to about 8 ft maybe a little
higher. The owner has repeatedly cut canes at about 2ft when there has
been a threat of a cyclone. So the last trim was probably January 2011. I
will be trying to get an image of the host plant in the near future. I
removed two small areas, one for me and one for her to pot herself.

Can Anyone tell me what this is,Please?

[Peter G]

Hi Reg.

I'm thinking chamaedorea seifrizii

[Reg]

Thanks Peter G,

That is a likely candidate.

I see this Palm has Female and Male Plants. So no chance of fruit on this plant.

Any suggestions about where to find plants or seeds in Au.

OOPs!
Just found this link and images including fruit from Maggie Island. So I should be able to locate other plants somewhere.

http://www.somemagneticislandplants.com.au/index.php/plants/206-chamaedorea-seifrizii

Edited May 25, 2013 by Reg

[Reg]

Hi,

One thing lead to another and this is another possibility.

http://www-public.jcu.edu.au/discovernature/plants_t/JCUDEV_005451

[Peter G]

Reg,

I just had a quick look on Palmpedia and I read the following:

Chamaedorea seifrizii, but C. microspadix has a greater distance between stems in a clump and produces red fruit, while those of C. seifrizii are black when ripe.

[Reg]

Thanks for your efforts Peter.
Unfortunately a plant is either male
or female and requires the other to produce fruit, it may be quite some
time before any fruit are ever produced. I was thinking of getting some
seed and growing some to obtain the other half but the fruit apears to
be poisonous and I don't particularly need to add poison plants in a
caravan park where there are quit often children of all ages.

[Kostas]

Chamaedorea fruits contain an irritant and not a poison,there is no serious threat to children or pets,only discomfort caused. It also teaches to children not to try to eat things they dont know but without anything more than a short term irritation from the oxalic acid crystals. This is only a mechanical irritant,no poison.

[virtualpalm]

This looks like C. seiffrizii to me. Add to that the fact that C. seiffrizii is about 1,000 times more common in cultivation, and it seems much more likely that it is the former.

[Reg]

Hi Everyone.

Thank you all for your input and efforts.

A point I discovered that hasn't been mentioned: C. seiffrizii has a blue green trunk colour as this specimen has.

And also: Chamaedora microspadix leaves are velvety to the touch on the upper surface.

I will buy some seed of C. seiffrizii and in the years to come there may be some fruit after all.

Anyway they will add to the tropical look of the park without causing problems in preperations for cyclones.

I get the impression that some Con Artist has sold plants around town using a common name Coral Palm and telling his buyers the plant is extremely rare.